Renae Guitarist Is Sort of a Vegan; He’ll Eat a Deer

Eating on the road is never easy. There's the lack of money that strangles options and makes taste a dirty fantasy. But for those with dietary restrictions like avoiding meat and animal byproducts, things are even harder. Renae guitarist Ben Dewitt told Noisecreep it hasn't been easy for him since the band went on a more full-time tour schedule. "I can't always avoid the cheese." Dewitt is not a vegan, however; at least not one in the traditional hardcore sense, where there is a Meat Is Murder logo on his bag. "It's hard to call me a vegan, because the way I work it's more about how I don't like factory farms."

Dewitt continued, "It's not that meat repulses me; it's that I don't know where it's coming from, and it's not humanely taken care of." He admitted to feeling healthier in general by staying away from all things animal as long as he can take multivitamins, but mistakes happen -- especially when the rest of the band doesn't share in the conviction.

"I'm a realist. If they get pizzas I'll try not to eat it. I can eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich just as easily. But after 14/15 days of eating nothing but peanut butter and jelly every day, a warm meal makes you want to eat -- just the smell of it." The cold months were of course the season of trials and tribulations.

"I haven't failed. I just haven't gone fully into the vegan thing," Dewitt clarified. "But I'll tell you the truth: If I can make it a day without eating that stuff, I will, but it's not always possible with the amount of money I don't have. I'm experimenting with it is the best way to describe my outlook."

Being that his belief system is more based on where the animal is kept or killed, Dewitt will happily eat meat under the right circumstance. "If it can be undoubtedly proven to be organic, I'll eat the meat," he said, adding that his family back in Illinois are avid deer hunters. "If they kill a dear, I might eat some of that."

Dewitt is not concerned with how he is defined in his belief. "Taking control of your own life is the point of any counterculture movement," he said. "A lot of people get misconceptions about it and people become arrogant with it. I'm not going to tell you what to eat, but it helps to be informed."